If I Never Knew You
by AllisonWonderland203
Summary: "Sometimes..." she whispered. "Sometimes, I wish that I had never met you..." Post-ALAYM Fiyeraba.


**Disclaimer: Some dialogue is taken from the song "If I Never Knew You" from Disney's _Pocahontas_. I own neither Wicked nor Pocahontas… nor any other aspect of Universal or Disney, for that matter.  
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Fiyero awoke to a soft stirring beside him. He opened his eyes to see Elphaba lying on her back, staring up at the stars. He smiled at the sight of her. As he joined the waking world once more, there was no moment of disorientation, no questioning why he was waking up on the cold ground rather than in his bed. He remembered everything with perfect clarity – her appearance at the Wizard's palace, the run, the flight on her broom, his taking her in his arms, a lowering to the forest floor, touches and caresses and an intimacy so sweet he was sure he'd never want another as long as he lived – and he regretted nothing.

Looking over at Elphaba, he hoped she didn't either. Everything had been so sudden, but he had been sure it was what he wanted, and what she had wanted as well. There was no doubt that she had returned all his advances, even invited them… But she was so quiet sometimes. He was never quite sure what was going on in her head. She always had been, he reminded himself, just as she was now. He wondered what she was thinking, as she stared up into the heavens.

Then, as if she'd known he was thinking about her, she glanced over at him. She blinked, not expecting him to be awake, but said nothing. Fiyero reached out to her and brushed the unruly dark hair back from her face.

"You're awake." It wasn't really a question.

Elphaba turned to face him, curling her body close to his. She smiled then, her white teeth glinting like pearls in the moonlight, and kissed his chin. "I can't sleep."

"You're not tired?"

"Proud of ourselves, are we?"

"Elphaba…" He warned, twining his fingers in hers.

She chuckled softly, burrowing her face in his neck. "How could I waste even a moment of precious time on sleep? We don't know how long we'll have."

"Well, when you put it that way…" Fiyero laughed and held her close to him, but he noticed that she had stiffened slightly, no longer relaxed in his embrace. When she rested her head on his shoulder, he looked down and saw her smile had faded and her eyes had grown dark and serious with contemplation.

"Elphaba? What are you thinking?" he asked, drawing tiny circles with his fingertips on the small of her back.

"Many things," she answered, her eyes focusing on him once more as a cryptic half-smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"Of course," he rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "But what were you thinking about just a second ago? You had a strange look on your face just then…"

"It was nothing," she shook her head, reaching up to touch his cheek. "Nothing more than a passing thought."

He was not so easily swayed. "Elphaba… don't hide your thoughts from me… Not now."

She pulled away and cast her gaze towards the stars once more. Fiyero waited, knowing whatever she had to say was worth the time it took for her to summon the courage. It was several moments before she answered, and when she did, her voice was soft, so soft he wondered if he'd even heard her.

"That sometimes… sometimes, I wish that I had never met you…"

"_Elphaba?"_ he sat up, jostling her, looking to her face to see the intent behind her words.

"…Then it wouldn't hurt so much to lose you…"

"Don't ever say that," he said harshly. "I would rather die tomorrow than have lived my whole life without knowing you."

"Don't _you_ say that," she chided, turning further into his embrace as the weight of their conversation settled over her, reminding her that nothing was certain. "You never know what tomorrow will bring."

"And I don't care," he said, searching for her eyes in the dark. "I could never love you more, Elphaba. You know that, right? Not if we were given just this night or ten years or fifty years. I could never love you any more or any less than I do right now. You mean everything to me. Without you, I'd be empty. Understand me?"

"I understand," she whispered, taking in his words – so unfamiliar and strange and wonderful all at once.

"Do you?" he pressed, taking her hands in his. "I need you to know this – _know this _– and never forget. No matter what happens."

"I do," she squeezed his hands. "You're scaring me, Fiyero… I'm supposed to be the one warning you about the dangers…"

"… but now I need to keep you safe too. I don't think I could live without you again."

The honesty in his eyes shook her and she took his face her hands and kissed him breathless. Fiyero lost himself in the heat and warmth of her, scarcely believing, even after hours, that they she was really here in his arms.

After several moments, he rose up a little, disentangling from her arms and positioning himself so he could better see her. Even through the tall quoxwood trees, the moonlight was enough to allow him the sight of her long green limbs, her soft emerald flesh. He couldn't help but touch her, slowly running his hands over her body, curves and planes, rises and falls, listening to her soft gasps.

Her smile had returned. "Yero… What are you doing?"

"Memorizing you – every inch. So I'll never be without you."

"You'll never be without me," she took his head in her hands, bringing her lips to his forehead. "Not in here…"

"Not here either," he took one of her hands and, pressing a kiss to the palm, held it to his heart.

"Never forget me?" she arched an eyebrow, smiling at his sentimentality.

"I could_ never _forget you." He brushed his lips over hers.

"I'll never let you go," she whispered against his mouth.

He kissed her again, again. "I'll never leave you."

"…You can't promise that," she shook her head. "You can't promise forever."

Fiyero's eyes softened, seeing the change in her expression. He didn't want her hiding from him again, retreating in fear of an uncertain future. He needed her to see that it didn't matter. "Neither can you… but I promise that for right now, for right here, for _this _forever, I'm yours."

"Promise?" she asked, a sly smile gracing her features.

"Promise," he told her, voice and eyes serious. "This is my choice. And for all the time I have, I choose you… I love you."

"I love you, too."

With those long-coveted words, he leaned down and captured her lips once more. She sighed against his mouth and wrapped her arms around him, drawing him close to her, as if to stay that way forever.

There was no way to know what the future held, but for every moment that they had, he could hope to spend it awake in the knowledge that no matter where life took them, neither he nor Elphaba would be completely alone ever again. For now and forever, she was a part of him, just as much as he was a part of her.

And that was enough.


End file.
